Project REST: Regulation of Eating and Sleep Topography

Description

Overweight/obesity and inadequate sleep are prevalent, and frequently co-occurring, health risks among children, both of which are associated with serious medical and psychosocial health complications including risk for cardiovascular disease. Although the investigator's data suggest that disrupted or shortened sleep may be causally associated with increased energy intake and weight gain in children, and with self-regulation and neural response to food cues in adults, understanding of mechanisms involved in the sleep/eating association is incomplete, thereby impeding development of targeted, optimally timed intervention strategies. The proposed mechanistic clinical trial aims to assess the effects of an experimental sleep manipulation on eating-related self-regulation and its neural substrates, and on real-world eating behavior, among children with overweight/obesity, which will help guide research efforts towards the refinement of prevention and intervention strategies targeting sleep and its eating-related correlates to curb weight gain throughout development.

Conditions

Obesity, Childhood, Binge Eating, Sleep, Self-regulation

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

Overweight/obesity and inadequate sleep are prevalent, and frequently co-occurring, health risks among children, both of which are associated with serious medical and psychosocial health complications including risk for cardiovascular disease. Although the investigator's data suggest that disrupted or shortened sleep may be causally associated with increased energy intake and weight gain in children, and with self-regulation and neural response to food cues in adults, understanding of mechanisms involved in the sleep/eating association is incomplete, thereby impeding development of targeted, optimally timed intervention strategies. The proposed mechanistic clinical trial aims to assess the effects of an experimental sleep manipulation on eating-related self-regulation and its neural substrates, and on real-world eating behavior, among children with overweight/obesity, which will help guide research efforts towards the refinement of prevention and intervention strategies targeting sleep and its eating-related correlates to curb weight gain throughout development.

Eating-related Self-regulation and Its Neural Substrates as Mechanisms Underlying the Sleep/Eating Behavior Association in Children With Overweight/Obesity: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

Project REST: Regulation of Eating and Sleep Topography

Condition
Obesity, Childhood
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213

Providence

Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center, Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02903

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * overweight/obese
  • * willing to undergo a 30-minute MRI scan
  • * average sleep time exceeds 10 hours/night
  • * previous eating disorder diagnosis and/or sleep or psychiatric conditions
  • * conditions affecting executive functioning (e.g., recent concussion, traumatic brain injury)
  • * taking medication known to affect sleep/appetite (e.g., antihistamines, stimulants)
  • * receiving concurrent treatment for sleep or overweight/obesity

Ages Eligible for Study

8 Years to 12 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

University of Pittsburgh,

Andrea B Goldschmidt, Ph.D., PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of Pittsburgh

Study Record Dates

2025-07-31